How about that Baron Davis and the Golden State Warriors? They have won eight of their last nine games, including five straight on the road, with Davis averaging 22.4 points, nine assists and 5.4 rebounds.
And you say, “Who the heck cares? Let’s talk playoffs. Or, at least, about NBA players doing more stupid things.”
True, hardly anyone cares about the Warriors as the Bay Area newspapers pursue their annual tradition of removing the beat writers from the road in March. What is most interesting about the Warriors is the way another NBA star (Davis passes for one these days) quit on his team, apparently faked the severity of his physical issues, demanded a trade and got his way.
It’s not a hot-button issue in the current collective-bargaining negotiations (like an age minimum, a minor league, the luxury tax, the 10 percent escrow and the mandatory eight-count in Pacers-Pistons games).
But NBA officials remain quietly concerned about another summer like last year’s with elite players such as Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter whining–and dogging–their way out of long-term guaranteed contracts.
Davis had his agent ask for a trade last summer after being benched for repeatedly being late to team meetings and disregarding play calls. His coach was Tim Floyd, so no one thought much of it. Davis then defied the team in camp by having his own trainer and doing his stretching away from the team.
Davis then went public with his trade request, suffered an Achilles’ injury in January and was slow to return, so the Hornets sent him home to rehab. He didn’t return when expected after the All-Star break, saying he didn’t feel better, then was traded. Now he regularly plays 35 to 40 minutes for the Warriors.
“I wore out my welcome, and I didn’t want to be there anymore,” Davis explained, with the Hornets firmly last in the West for years to come.
And so now we come to Jason Kidd. Look for Kidd to start demanding his way out of New Jersey. He has done everything but that for most of the season with his tepid support for the Nets. This from a guy who had the chance to go to the Spurs but rejected it when the Nets came up with more than $100 million through 2008-09. Of course, the Nets had to take on Alonzo Mourning for $22 million without a physical at Kidd’s urging. Mourning complained his way out of New Jersey and is with Miami and a chance for a championship this season.
Will Kevin Garnett be next? He is having physical problems and will be entering his 10th season. The Timberwolves are a mess, and many believe general manager/coach Kevin McHale will leave the organization.
How about Allen Iverson, 30 next season, with the 76ers’ second-tier situation and a coach he doesn’t care for in Jim O’Brien?
As for Kidd, the Nets might like to accommodate him as well. One interesting scenario involves the Lakers. With the Lakers about to be eliminated from the playoffs for the first time since 1994 this week, they need someone to get the ball out of Kobe Bryant’s hands. Only an All-Star will do. They talked patience and free agents after trading Shaquille O’Neal last summer, but that should disappear after a losing season and Bryant impatient for the club to improve. Lamar Odom never fit with Bryant because he defers too much and needs the ball in his hands more. He might work with New Jersey’s Carter and Richard Jefferson, is from the East and fared best when he was with Miami last season, and is younger and cheaper.
Visions of Bulls playoffs
Yes, one can dream. And why not. Hot teams in the last 20 games of their NBA seasons, as the Bulls are now, have done amazing things when there weren’t dominant superstars to get in the way, which currently is the case. So you’re asking whether the Bulls can win a first-round matchup?
Think bigger. Consider these teams:
In the 1978 Finals, Washington (44 wins that season) beat Seattle; Seattle (39) went to the 1987 Western Conference finals; Phoenix (41) went to the Western Conference finals in 1984; the 1979 and 1982 Spurs (both with 48) went to the conference finals; the Rockets (40) went to the 1981 NBA Finals; the 1976 Suns (42) played one of the most memorable Finals; and the 1975 Warriors (48) stole the conference finals from the Bulls and won the championship.
It’s about getting hot at the right time. And what if the Pacers get the final Eastern Conference playoff spot? They’re 3-0 this season against Miami, which hasn’t won in Indiana in four years, and Jermaine O’Neal is practicing again. “When a team wins 12 in a row against you, you can’t make excuses about it,” Heat coach Stan Van Gundy said.
The Pacers, though, are working their way toward sixth and a third consecutive first-round series with the Celtics. If you want to look ahead, figure a Bulls-Wizards matchup in the first round.
Their April 13 meeting in Washington could be for home-court advantage. Both teams are tied at 41-31, though Washington has an easier closing schedule. The series would be an intriguing matchup of perhaps the league’s best perimeter offensive team (if Antawn Jamison returns healthy) vs. perhaps the league’s best defensive team. The Hawks’ Al Harrington said Gilbert Arenas and Larry Hughes are “pretty much impossible to shut down. I have to admit, it’s a beautiful combination they’ve got going on.”
It’s unclear if alumnus Michael Jordan would throw out the first ball at each team’s first home game.
Changes in Detroit?
The Pistons, long aware of coach Larry Brown’s eccentricities, were prepared to find a replacement for Brown if he had decided not to return after surgery. Friends say Brown’s wife doesn’t care for Detroit and that, despite his repeated denials, New York remains his likely landing spot. If Brown leaves, Detroit radio remains abuzz with rumors again of Tom Izzo leaving Michigan State. . . . New Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert continues his makeover with former player and ESPN broadcaster Greg Anthony the latest to interview for Jim Paxson’s GM job. . . . Here they go again. Last season Seattle’s Ray Allen said the Spurs’ Bruce Bowen played “sissy basketball,” and last week added that Bowen “doesn’t play basketball. He’s out there playing some other sport. I don’t know what you call it.” Said Bowen: “I’ve never heard the great ones say anything like that. You never heard Michael Jordan say John Starks doesn’t play basketball or the Pistons don’t play basketball.” Well, actually, Jordan did after the Bulls went up 3-0, which led to the famed Pistons’ walkout in the 1991 playoffs. But that was then.
Double dribbles
Jamal Crawford has a new name, thanks to one New York tabloid: Jamal Crawful. The former Bull had a 3-for-17 shooting performance Sunday in a 106-102 loss to the Bucks. It marked the fifth time in six games the Knicks yielded more than 100 points. Crawford, shooting under 39 percent on the season, says he is “confused” after being benched for defensive reasons. Counseled teammate Stephon Marbury: “When in doubt, shoot. That’s how I look at it.” At least Crawford is in the right place.
Jalen Rose ripped anonymous Toronto teammates as being selfish; everyone decided it was directed at Rafer Alston. Alston, involved in his share of disputes this season, now only calls Rose “that man.”
Don’t you miss your team being lousy?
But not every NBA player is a selfish millionaire. Denver’s Eduardo Najera formed the Eduardo Najera Basketball League with more than 10,000 boys and girls registered in Mexico. Said Najera: “No one really helped me when I was a kid. I’m trying to change that.”
Sunny spots
The Suns have a good shot at the league’s best record after, like the Bulls, finishing with the second-worst record in their conference last season. They already have broken the franchise record for road wins; they have the largest point increase in one season, 16 per game more than last season; they’re one of nine teams in NBA history to go from 50 losses to 50 wins; they are (unless the Bulls do it Tuesday) the only team to have a double-digit winning streak after losing at least 50 games the previous season; and they are on pace to set the league record for three pointers made. They’re also on pace to become the fourth team ever with a 30-game turnaround after the 1996-97 Spurs, who got Tim Duncan, the 1988-89 Spurs, who got David Robinson, and the 1979-80 Celtics, who got Larry Bird.
Last shots
In Orlando, where the Bulls play on Wednesday, voters in a recent poll favored that tourist tax money should go for a performing arts center (does a mouse dance?) or the Citrus Bowl before helping the Magic renovate their arena. . . . And do you suppose this is why the NBA players suddenly play so hard in the playoffs? “Babysitting and hanging out with the wife early. You don’t want to do that. You want the season to go on,” explained Shaquille O’Neal. . . . In Miami, where the Bulls play on Tuesday, there are other issues. Former Bull Paul Shirley says in his Suns online diary: “Based on the crowd at the game, the use of silicone per capita in Miami has got to be the highest in the U.S. All in all, a good night for testing one’s ability to focus through distraction.”
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sasmith@tribune.com
